Francis Bacon was born on January 22, 1561 in London, England. He was born to Nicolas and Anne Cooke Bacon and was had an older brother, Anthony. He began attending Trinity College in Cambridge when he was only 12. The next year in 1576 he began a law program at Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. However he was disinterested in the old teachings of Aristotle and preferred the newer styles of renaissance humanism. After he found a job over in France in 1575, he suddenly had to return home to England following his father's death. This left him broke and without a job. He fortanly found a job within the House of Commons in 1581. By 1584 he had a major position in Parliament. He held that position until 1617 when he obtained the title of Lord Chancellor. However his life took a downward turn in 1621 when he was accused and found guilty of corruption by the Parliament. The one good thing he had going for him was his wife, Alice Barnham, who he married in 1603, had never left his side through all the trouble. after he lost his spot in parliament he began to focus more on something he had been interested in for a while, the philosophy of science. He wrote many works and became well known for his ideas. He died in April 1626 when he was experimenting on the uses of ice and he contracted bronchitis.[1]
School of Thought/Major Beliefs/Teachings
The major philosophy that Bacon believed in was the new humanism of the renaissance. He was one of the first philosopher to follow this way of thinking. This kind of philosophy originated with the renaissance movement. It was mainly focused on the things humanism could and on how they could progress[2] . It wanted religion to be seperate from science and the State. This, however, did not mean they were not religious. Using this type of philosophy, Bacon wanted to find a new way to do things in not only science, but politics as well. He was a big advocate for the Tudor monarchs of England, most notably James I. He thought they did things rational and efficient but he strongly disliked James I view on divine right. And while he was an amazing politician his greatest accomplishment was founding the empirical method, which was what he thought of as an improved scientific method. This new type of methodology, he thought, would improve the state of mankind and the world. This was all a part of his humanistic view.
Major Writings
Bacon wrote many works not just on science, but various topics ranging from politics to history and mythology. The writing he is most known for is his Novum Organum Scientiarum. He presented in this work a new order of the scientific method and he also said that observation and analy
sis were two of the most important things. This was the work that really distinguished him as a real philosopher of science. His first work however was a political writing to Queen Elizabeth in 1584. In this he gave advice for the newly crowned queen Elizabeth. It was this work that set him down his political career. He continued his work on the scientific reform when he published his De AugmentisScientiarum. One of his last works was Sylva Sylvarum, which was a text describing natural history over the last century, in 1627.[3]
Influenced By/Legacy
Bacon gained his humanistic view from overturning the work of Plato and Aristotle but instead finding a new methodology to doing things which set him apart and influenced many that came after him[4] . His new methodology of the scientific method impacted the way scientists and philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, John Mill, Thomas Browne, Descartes, and later in the the 19th century, William Whewell. while his philosophy was still influential, his main source of influence to all these people was his new scientific method.
Further Reading
Some other sources that you can learn more about Bacon and his works include:
Farrell, John (2006). "6: The Science of Suspicion". Paranoia and Modernity: Cervantes to Rousseau. Cornell University Press. ISBN978-0801474064.
Farrington, Benjamin (1964). The Philosophy of Francis Bacon. University of Chicago Press. Contains English translations of
Temporis Partus Masculus
Cogitata et Visa
Redargutio Philosophiarum
Heese, Mary (1968). "Francis Bacon's Philosophy of Science". In Vickers, Brian. Essential Articles for the Study of Francis Bacon. Hamden, CT: Archon Books. pp. 114–39.
Lewis, Rhodri. "Francis Bacon and Ingenuity." Renaissance Quarterly 67.1 (2014): 113–163. in JSTOR
Roselle, Daniel; Young, Anne P. "5: The 'Scientific Revolution' and the 'Intellectual Revolution'". Our Western Heritage.[full citation needed]
Rossi, Paolo (1978). Francis Bacon: from Magic to Science. Taylor & Francis.
Serjeantson, Richard. "Francis Bacon and the 'Interpretation of Nature' in the Late Renaissance," Isis (Dec 2014) 105#4 pp: 681–705.
REGINALD WALTER GIBSON, Francis Bacon: A Bibliography of His Works and Baconiana to the Year 1750(1950), and Francis Bacon: Supplement (1959), it contain further research information.[5]
Francis Bacon
| Biography | School of Thought/Major Beliefs/Teachings | Major Writings | | Influenced By/Legacy | Further Reading
Biography
Francis Bacon was born on January 22, 1561 in London, England. He was born to Nicolas and Anne Cooke Bacon and was had an older brother, Anthony. He began attending Trinity College in Cambridge when he was only 12. The next year in 1576 he began a law program at Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. However he was disinterested in the old teachings of Aristotle and preferred the newer styles of renaissance humanism. After he found a job over in France in 1575, he suddenly had to return home to England following his father's death. This left him broke and without a job. He fortanly found a job within the House of Commons in 1581. By 1584 he had a major position in Parliament. He held that position until 1617 when he obtained the title of Lord Chancellor. However his life took a downward turn in 1621 when he was accused and found guilty of corruption by the Parliament. The one good thing he had going for him was his wife, Alice Barnham, who he married in 1603, had never left his side through all the trouble. after he lost his spot in parliament he began to focus more on something he had been interested in for a while, the philosophy of science. He wrote many works and became well known for his ideas. He died in April 1626 when he was experimenting on the uses of ice and he contracted bronchitis.[1]
School of Thought/Major Beliefs/Teachings
The major philosophy that Bacon believed in was the new humanism of the renaissance. He was one of the first philosopher to follow this way of thinking. This kind of philosophy originated with the renaissance movement. It was mainly focused on the things humanism could and on how they could progress[2] . It wanted religion to be seperate from science and the State. This, however, did not mean they were not religious. Using this type of philosophy, Bacon wanted to find a new way to do things in not only science, but politics as well. He was a big advocate for the Tudor monarchs of England, most notably James I. He thought they did things rational and efficient but he strongly disliked James I view on divine right. And while he was an amazing politician his greatest accomplishment was founding the empirical method, which was what he thought of as an improved scientific method. This new type of methodology, he thought, would improve the state of mankind and the world. This was all a part of his humanistic view.
Major Writings
Bacon wrote many works not just on science, but various topics ranging from politics to history and mythology. The writing he is most known for is his Novum Organum Scientiarum. He presented in this work a new order of the scientific method and he also said that observation and analysis were two of the most important things. This was the work that really distinguished him as a real philosopher of science. His first work however was a political writing to Queen Elizabeth in 1584. In this he gave advice for the newly crowned queen Elizabeth. It was this work that set him down his political career. He continued his work on the scientific reform when he published his De Augmentis Scientiarum. One of his last works was Sylva Sylvarum, which was a text describing natural history over the last century, in 1627.[3]
Influenced By/Legacy
Bacon gained his humanistic view from overturning the work of Plato and Aristotle but instead finding a new methodology to doing things which set him apart and influenced many that came after him[4] . His new methodology of the scientific method impacted the way scientists and philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, David Hume, John Mill, Thomas Browne, Descartes, and later in the the 19th century, William Whewell. while his philosophy was still influential, his main source of influence to all these people was his new scientific method.
Further Reading
Some other sources that you can learn more about Bacon and his works include:
Francis Bacon. (2017, October 10). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.biography.com/people/francis-bacon-9194632